Namine and the Beast
by LightNamine
Summary: It's a spin-off of Beauty and The Beast where Namine is Belle! Namine is held prisoner to a horrible beast with a dark secret and a cold heart...will he learn to love? Would such a beauty be able to love someone as repulsive as a beast?
1. Off To A Rocky Start

Chapter one- Off to a Rocky Start

"No. and that is my final answer," huffed a young girl, slamming the door in a man's face.

"How dare she!" fumed the rejected man, storming over to anxious stalker-like friend.

"Well, how'd it go, she couldn't resist could she!" his friend grinned.

The man's death glare answered the other's question, "Aw, its okay Riku! There are plenty of other girls out there!"

"Yes, but I promised myself her! After all, she is the fairest in the entire village," seethed Riku, his silver hair falling into his green eyes.

The furious man stalked off causing his shadow of a friend to race after to console him. The young belle of the village, merely closed the curtain she'd been watching from and blew a blonde lock out of her face in frustration.

"Namine? Namine who was that?" called out a voice from the basement.

"Oh, papa! It was Riku…he asked me to marry him!" the girl exclaimed with a slight laugh.

"Well, he is quite a handsome man," her father commented.

"Papa please! He is a monster!" the young blonde exclaimed, helping him carrying a box across the room.

The old father merely nodded, focusing back on his contraption and the girl climbed nimbly around, "is it working?"

"No. the con-founded thing never worked and never will!" cursed the inventor, scratching his head.

The girl smiled and helped him finish it up and to both of their surprise it worked! After a long train of series of events the contraption managed to slice a log so old men no longer had to! The girl hugged her father, giving him a kiss on the cheek saying how happy she was for him.

Then the old inventor started coughing and it shook his entire frame. The girl told him to lay down and that she would accompany him to the inventor's convention. At first he rejected the idea violently saying she should stay at home where it would be safest for such a young girl, but once he began to get drowsy he eventually agreed.

Namine placed a cold, refreshing wash cloth on his forehead in an attempt to keep his fever at bay and made him as comfortable as possible before she crept silently down the creaky ancient steps and curled up with her favorite book by the fire.

Winter was just beginning, so the small family of two almost always kept a fire burning to keep the house warm and the girl wrapped a soft, cozy lavender blanket around her small frame and daintily opened the book to her favorite part where she has read at least seventy times.

In the book it was the scene where the dazzling prince raced in and saved the fair princess from the evil dragon. Every time her eyes scanned the pages it was like reading it for the first time. Somewhere between the actual slaying of the dragon and the young couple's journey home Namine dozed off.

For when she awoke the sun was seeping through the curtains. The sleepy girl leaped up, tangling her legs up in the blanket causing her to let out a small cry before tumbling helplessly into the wooden floor.

"Ugh…" the girl, groaned, freeing her arm to rub her forehead.

Once the world stopped spinning, she wriggled free, like a caterpillar out of a cocoon, and put the blanket away and went to wake her father. When she arrived in her room she noticed the man was already awake- his blonde hair washed, his forest green eyes bright and attentive, and he wore a crisp white shirt and nice dress pants and shoes. The girl smiled to herself and told him she would only take a little bit.

Rushing, the girl easily slipped into her favorite blue and white dress and threw a deep green cloak around her shoulders in an effort to keep her from hypothermia's grasps. The girl threw her gorgeous blonde hair into a casual ponytail where just a bit of her bangs slipped out and she was rushing out the door.

"Papa wait!" the girl exclaimed, laughing.

Her father was all packed up and had the horse all ready and the two were both anxious. Namine picked up the hems of her dress and ran over to him and the horse, Philippe. The man hoisted her up and they were off. The girl realized that it was impossible to take five steps before the infamous Riku appeared.

"Vexen! Where are you and your lovely daughter off to?" he asked with his usual superiority.

"To the inventor's convention….and no, you must certainly cannot come," the girl answered for her father and told Vexen to keep moving.

Riku watched them leave, the bewitching blonde never once sparing a glance for him which only infuriated Riku even more which is why he sulked off to the bar. Namine soon calmed herself once the handsome maniac was out of her sight.

"I don't see why you are so put off by him, Namine,"her father lectured.

"Father, he only cares about looks. Sure, he is the strongest man in our town, but he is self-centered, and I doubt he would allow me to read… I would be his trophy," the daughter scoffed.

Her father nodded, listening to his young daughter's annoyances. The two traveled well into night fall which was when the climate dropped drastically and the girl questioned if they were lost.

Vexen reassured his troubled daughter saying they just took a detour, but then the wolves descended upon them. Namine let out a shriek and the house kicked them off, the machine the two had worked on for what seemed like forever was smashed, but that was no longer her concern.

She crawled up onto her feet and hurried over to her fallen father. The young girl helped support him and the two raced off desperately searching for safety. The wolves were at their heels when they stumbled upon black iron gates and they forced them open, closing them just in time for the wolves' mouths to meet the rusting bars. The frightened duo looked at one another before proceeding to the castle.

It was Namine who flung open the large wooden doors and the two were greeted by darkness. The sick old man coughed and called out for anyone who was there. the two heard whispering, so Vexen left his daughter's side and grasped a candelabra in an attempt to see the residents of this place.

"Please! He is sick!" Namine pleaded with the strange voices.

"Alright, we will help," stated a male's voice.

"No! Master will be furious!" yelled another male's voice.

The girl's head snapped over to the candelabra for the first voice and her father poked at it causing it to giggle. Namine's jaw dropped while a clock lumbered into view, claiming the second voice.

"Ingenious! I wonder how these machines work!" her father mused.

The girl's musical laugh filled the halls, "now now papa, we need to get you better!"

"Come this way, please," the candelabra grinned, hopping off.

The two humans were able to easily keep up and the candelabra, named Axel, led them to a room with a fireplace where the young woman quickly lit it and sat her father down on the plush red chair facing it and fetched a silky blanket to cover him. The father and daughter's jaws both dropped where a small foot rest leaped underneath Vexen's feet.

"This is bad, bad, bad- master will be furious!" the clock moaned.

"Oh hush, Demyx!" Axel snapped, threatening to burn him.

The girl quickly covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle and watched as a cart rolled in with a talking tea cup and cup with a small chip in it. The tea pot poured some refreshing looking tea and Vexen sipped out of the chipped cup and it started laughing, startling the poor man so badly he nearly dropped him.

"Momma, who are they?" the little cup asked in a squeaky little boy's voice.

"I'm Namine and this here is my papa- Vexen," the blonde beamed down at him.

"Ah, pleasure mademoiselle!" Axel greeted, kissing her hand causing the girl to stifle another giggle.

"I am, of course, Axel, that whiny clock is Demyx, the tea cup is sweet Mrs. Kairi, and that little cup right there is her son- Sora," Axel told the girl.

"I am honored to meet you all," the girl smiled, curtsying to them.

The girl was enjoying her stay, that is, until _he _burst in. it started with an angry yell and the doors flew open and the next thing I knew the scariest creature I had ever seen before was sizzling at the door. Instinctively, Namine flew herself in front of her father and the creature approached them.

"What is this?" he yelled, making the girl want to tremble but she stayed brave.

"M-m-m-master! I-I-I- I told them not to! That they would leave on their own!" whimpered Demyx.

I glared him down, "my father is sick and is in need of warmth, so I brought him here because we were being chased by wolves."

"Leave!" he snarled and went to leave but Axel stopped him, whispering something to him and the beast turned back.

"The old man may leave, but you must stay," he stated, pointing a clawed finger at the frail girl.

"M-me?" she sputtered, terrified.

"Unless you would prefer your father to rot in my dungeons for trespassing," the beast sighed, seeming bored.

"No! Let him go, I'll stay…I…I promise," the girl ended with a whisper, looking away to blink away the tears.

"Namine no! I am old but you, you have so much to live for!" Vexen pleaded as the Beast dragged him out and threw him out.

The young girl stayed strong until the beast returned and led her upstairs. Once he left and she believed she was alone she sank to her bony knees in defeat and heartbreak and sobbed and sobbed until her entire frame shook viciously and the silent bystander could no longer stand to watch the poor girl suffer.

"It'll get better deary," cooed a female's voice.

The girl, caught off guard, whipped her head up and feeling very self-conscious asked, "w-who's there?"

"Just me, here sweetie," the wardrobe said, hobbling out from the darkness, handing her a piece of a shredded shirt.

The young belle whipped her tears away and asked the wardrobe, "Who are you?"

"My name is Olette, I believe your name is Namine, correct?" the wardrobe, Olette, replied with another question.

"Yeah, that's my name," Namine nodded.

There was a knock on the door and the girl heard the beast's voice, "you will- grr…will you please accompany me to dinner tonight?"

The girl needed no time to respond, "I'm not hungry."

"Just come dine with me!" the beast retorted, angered.

"No!" the girl yelled back through the door.

"Fine! Then you will not eat at all!" growled the beast's voice and she could hear his furious footsteps leave.

The girl threw herself unto the bed in another fit of tears certain she was going to die…or lose her mind.

**Author's Note: **Well there's the first chapter! I'm not sure how much I like it, but I felt like I needed to write again, since I've been dealing with writer's block big time...anyway, hope it wasn't too awful! BYE!


	2. The West Wing

Chapter Two- The West Wing

"Sweetie, why don't you just dine with him?" Olette, suggested.

The blonde lifted her head up from her arms, sniffled, before mumbling, "Because…he…he's a monster!"

"He isn't all bad deary," commented Kairi in her motherly way.

"Yeah, I'm sure," the girl grumbled.

The wardrobe looked a bit taken a back and then her frame drooped and she lumbered back to where she originally stood. The girl instantly felt a twinge of guilt for making the kind wardrobe sad. She opened her mouth to say something but was at a loss for words.

"Look, I'm sorry," Namine whispered eventually.

Kairi had brought up some tea for her once the Beast had wandered off worrying that the girl would starve. Namine sipped sulkily at it, the taste turning out bitter due to how upset she was. The girl eventually finished it and set it lightly down on the table by her bed. She had to stop herself from shuddering at the thought of living here. Olette then spoke up seeing she was no longer distracting herself.

"It's okay, I've been waiting for ten years…a bit longer can't hurt," she sighed.

"Ten years? What are you talking about?" the young girl asked.

"N-nothing, forget I mentioned it," the wardrobe stuttered.

The blonde's intense gaze made the poor wardrobe shudder slightly and was relieved when the girl's stomach started to growl. She placed a pale hand to her famished abdomen and before Olette could object the adventurous girl had darted out of her dreary prison cell of a room.

She walked on the tips of her toes wanting to avoid the irritable beast. After stumbling about in the dark for what seemed like ever, her nose led her into the dining hall where the servants had barely begun cleaning up.

The hall was huge. A long narrow dark oak table that could fit easily twenty people on one side and one at the head and another at the foot was placed directly in the center of the room. On the table there was a white table cloth spread all the way down and a large chandelier hung on the ceiling above the middle of the table. The windows that showed outdoors were covered by heavy dark red velvety curtains. The chairs at the table didn't have a speck of dust on them and were made of all wood. The chairs at the head and foot though were also made of wood but had a plush red seat cushion. It looked very cozy, the girl noted. But still, she could not shake that cold, dreary atmosphere of the ancient castle.

Most of the servants were mumbling about how their hopes had been demolished or all that hard work wasted. The girl thought back to what Olette had mentioned and felt uncomfortable with the thought of being talked about for something she believed was the Beast's fault and not hers. Namine coughed ever so lightly but it echoed through the eerily quiet room.

"Ah! Mademoiselle! What brings you here?" Axel asked, hopping to her side.

"Umm, I am a bit famished…" Namine confessed.

Before Axel could get a word in, Demyx lumbered hastily over, "no, no, no! Absolutely not! You heard the master!"

Namine's shoulders hunched and was about to leave where Axel's voice called out, "nonsense! She is our guest! Pence, whip her up something fast!"

A small smile formed on her pale face as she reseated herself and food was being bustled out to the table so much more than she had ever seen before and Axel encouraging her to try everything.

"Soup du jour, hot hor d'eouvres, beef ragot, cheese soufflé," Axel exclaimed.

"Alright alright! You guys can cook, I get it!" exclaimed the girl.

The candlestick beamed and sauntered over to the young blonde who was busy feasting. Normally she always made something for herself and her father…and that something was almost always just a simple meal like bread. Demyx who had been shifting uneasily throughout the entire course was now trying to hustle her off upstairs.

"Oh, but I am way too awake now to sleep! Besides, I've never been inside an enchanted castle, I would just love to take a look around," Namine smiled, stretching out her arms and slipping gracefully out of her plush throne of a dining chair.

Demyx whispered accusingly at Axel, going to strangle him yelling at him for blurting when Namine intervened, pulling the two apart, "I figured it out myself, now, I would very much like to look around now."

"Now now now, I am not certain that is a good idea especially since…." Demyx trailed off giving Axel a knowing look.

"Why don't you show me? You seem so…knowledgeable after all," Namine stated, warming him up to the idea.

"Oh, well I wouldn't say ev-….actually, I do!" Demyx grinned, "What are we waiting for?"

After a long time of wandering, Demyx had brought them to a long hallway full of rusting armor, about ten on each side and red carpet in between them to walk on. There was a large golden chandelier casting a light over the three figures as they walked. At this time, Demyx delved into another one of his never ending lectures as Namine walked silently around the hall taking in every detail.

Demyx had just momentarily turned to scold the gawking armor and tell them to return to their business and that was all it took for Namine to notice a strikingly desolate flight of stairs. Intrigued, she walked over and was only three or four steps up the dusty stairs before Axel and Demyx leaped in front of her.

"What? Can we not go up there?" Namine pouted.

"There's nothing up there, though! Just dusty old stuff! The west wing is boring!" panicked Demyx, nudging Axel to help him out.

"The…west wing?" Namine asked, tilting her head.

"It's just where the master sleeps," Demyx said, instantly clapping a hand over his mouth.

Curiosity sparkled in Namine's eyes and she stepped around them but the two servants were quick and leaped in front of her.

"P-perhaps something else! How about the tapestries?" blubbered Demyx.

Namine merely shook her head and took several more steps before being blocked, "what about the gardens? Or the….library?"

"You have a library?" exclaimed Namine, her attention diverted.

"Yes, yes! Let us lead the way!" Axel stated and the three began their descent down the steps and towards the library.

"We have tons of books," Axel stated.

"Mounds and mounds and mounds of books!" Demyx told him as the two were hopping off.

Namine faltered at the foot of the old staircase before tiptoeing back up them and disappearing to her left. Once out of sight she hustled down the eerie old hall until she came upon a mirror. The only strange thing was that it was smashed by something the girl assumed was a claw. She swallowed hard, knowing the two servants were not lying about their master sleeping here. Tearing her gaze away from the mirror she continued down the desolate hallway. Eventually, the blonde arrived at a looming door.

She did a double take before slipping inside the room. Namine gasped at what she saw- the place was in shambles, everything was demolished by three clean swipe marks- a claw. She carefully stepped around the debris before halting at a picture. Gently, she put the picture together and saw a man starring back at her.

The man was all dressed up and had spiky blonde hair that was slightly darker than hers, striking blue eyes that looked strangely familiar and pale skin. She smiled lightly at how happy he appeared.

The rest of the room had the remains of a large king sized bed with a canopy, a beautiful balcony that had a great view of the woods, and an old dresser and a chair used for lounging around. Namine crept over to the balcony, pushing the curtains back and gazing out at the large sliver like moon. The rays poured down over the woods that used to frighten the girl so when she was young. But now, they still gave her the chills but indoors she appreciated them. The blonde was about to exit the room knowing she was pressing her luck, but something glowing red caught her eye. She spun on her heel and noticed that it was a glowing rose floating in a clear container with a silver mirror placed beside it on a brown circular table.

Intrigued, the curious girl stepped over to it, her fingers almost at the container when the doors flew over. She instantly recoiled as the Beast stormed over to her, threatening to attack. He wore only a red cloak and black pants that were torn at the bottom

"What is wrong with you! You should not be in here!" he raged.

"I-I I'm sorry!" gasped the girl, cringing away from him.

"You could have ruined _everything! _Get out! _Get out!_"he raged, swiping at the dresser just behind her causing it to crumble into even more pieces.

Terrified, the girl bolted out of the room, down the stairs, and out towards the doors she entered. It did not take long before the enchanted servants were clinking after her, begging her not to leave.

"Please, I'm sorry, promise or not, I cannot stay here…I….it isn't safe," the girl blubbered.

"No, you can't!" the servants wailed.

"Namine, we need you!" whined the little cup, Sora.

"Please find it in your hearts to forgive me," the girl whispered before disappearing into the darkness of the night.

**Author's Note: **Well, chapter two is up. Last week of school before winter break. WHOOOOO! Enjoy :)


	3. Wolves

Chapter Three- Wolves

Namine was greeted with snow turned into ice cutting at her face and a wind that nearly knocked her over but in her flimsy black shoes she continued to trudge through the deep snow. The frail girl couldn't help but shake and tremble and her teeth were chattering to the extent where she thought they would chop off her tongue. She still continued reminding herself of the Beast's rage and how she could not live with that.

The trees offered little protection against the wind. The blonde was put even more on edge by the constant howling of the wind, paranoid it would be the wolves that had chased her to that very place she was fleeing from. She wasn't sure which she would choose- wolves or attempt to run back. Unfortunately, she had to make that decision.

The howling got louder and louder and closer for that matter and her heart dropped as she noticed it was no longer the wind making the noise. The howling turned to rapid growling and it soon surrounded her. The pack stalked out of their hiding spots towards the young girl and she picked up a fallen branch to use as a weapon.

Foam and saliva dripped from their fangs and onto the ground in the form of globs. Their coats were gray and on all fours they were up to the girl's hip. She shivered as their ravenous yellow-orange eyes examined their prey. The leader lunged at her and she smacked it full force with the stick in the face only enraging it.

The wolf leaped and caught her cloak, ripping it off her and she tumbled onto the freezing snow. She saw three circling her and braced herself, curling into a ball and covering her face, waiting for the blow that never came. Reluctantly, Namine cracked her eyes open between her two arms and saw the Beast warding them off.

He picked them up like they were a flower and thrust them against trees and shoved them, but they teamed up on him causing him to fall and the girl was terrified for him, but he eventually freed himself and the wolves realizing they were outmatched fled into the darkness but their glowing her eyes would give the girl nightmares for a long time.

Namine went to run away, but noticed the Beast was hurt. The girl raced over to his side and steadied him, reassuring him that they'd get back to the castle just fine. he never complained about the cold or the pain…that is, until they got home and she begun caring for him. The duo collapsed inside the warm entrance room and the servants flocked to them.

"Kairi! I need boiling water and Axel and Demyx, I need a clean wash cloth, pronto!" the blonde ordered.

They all scrambled to get what she requested and she led The Beast gingerly by the arm to the room her father and her had been earlier. She plopped him down on the plush chair and whistled for the small dog of a foot stool to come over so he had some place to put his clawed feet. The determined young girl hastily lit a fire in the fireplace to keep them warm and the servants bustled in with what she needed.

"Perfect, thank you," the girl murmured.

She stood up and walked over to the Beast, going to undo his cloak where he eyed her warily. The radiant girl slipped it off ignoring his protest and knelt down by the boiling water, drenching the cloth in it. She wrung it out so it was merely damp and hovered back over to The Beast. Her eyes flickered with worry as she noticed him licking his wounds.

"Don't," she cautioned him, reaching out to take his arm.

He snarled angrily at her, pulling his wounded arm away from her. She persisted and they flew into a pattern of her lunging forward with the cloth and him dodging. Seeing how their master was in a foul mood, the servants quickly retreated to behind the foot stool dog. Namine won the battle in the end and placed it down on his cuts when he wasn't aware and The Beast roared in pain.

"That hurt!" he snapped.

"Well hold still then!" the blonde retorted.

"If _you _hadn't run away then I would not have gotten hurt!" he bellowed, her hair being blown out of her face.

"If _you _hadn't lost your temper and scared me I wouldn't have run away! Now hold still!" Namine replied, grasping his arm.

"Hold still," she whispered gently, cleaning the wound.

He gritted his teeth in pain and she looked up at him and murmured very softly, "thank you… for saving me."

The servants, amazed, crept back to their spots where The Beast replied gently, "you're welcome.

The two stared at one another for a long time and the young girl couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen those piercing blue eyes before…and how he looked at her made her heart skip. Now for the Beast he was mesmerized by her kindness and determination and her gorgeous blonde hair how it fell perfectly into place all the time with no effort on her part.

Namine had finally finished cleaning him up and was back in her room with Olette. The wardrobe was throwing nightgown after nightgown at the poor girl and her arms were aching under the weight. Finally, she settled for a simple white one.

"Gah, okay! I got one!" exclaimed the girl nervously, "man, I didn't know a wardrobe could hold that much."

"You said it yourself, we're enchanted, deary," Olette beamed.

Namine nodded and slipped into the pajamas. The nightgown fell on her mid-thigh was just white with a modest neck line and was tang top sleeve length. Kairi strolled in with Sora saying he wanted to say goodnight to her.

"Oh, well goodnight Sora, sweet dreams," smiled Namine, kissing the small cup with a chip.

He glowed and replied, "thank you Nami!"

Kairi nodded at her and once the door was closed the girl could her Sora exclaim, "mommy mommy, isn't she pretty? I told you guys she was!"

The girl merely smiled before collapsing on the bed, exhausted. The wardrobe bid her goodnight and she replied with sweet dreams. As she was just about asleep, Olette began to snore…uncontrollably. At first the girl thought she could tune her out, but that didn't work, so she covered her head with a pillow…no luck. She then threw the pillow at Olette who did not wake. After about an hour of trying different things, the girl gave up and slipped out of the room deciding to wander about since Demyx never finished the tour.

Her dainty feet were freezing as she crept down the chilled staircase. She was just about to go right when she saw a light in the room where she was earlier. The girl concluded it was the fireplace and waltzed over there and knocked gently on the door. No answer. Namine cracked it open ever so slightly and realized that The Beast was asleep on the chair. A smile crept on her face as she slipped inside and noticed he must be cold. She tiptoed over to where the purple blanket lay and unfolded it. Then she crept back over and placed it on The Beast. He stirred ever so slightly but settled back down.

"Goodnight," she whispered, kissing his forehead and disappeared out of the room.

Namine fell asleep with a smile on her face that night.

Riku was seated at a small round table with a large plush chair across from him and the only source of light was a tiny candle on the center of the table. A dark figure was seated at the large chair across from Riku. Riku's face was twisted into an evil smirk.

"You know, I normally do not come out this late," croaked an old man's voice.

"I promise you, this will be worth your while," Riku assured him, tossing a large bag of gold towards him.

The old man was bald at the top of his head but had long white hair down to his shoulders and crazed looking bushy white eyebrows. His eyes were sunken in and had bags upon bags underneath. He wore a simple brown-green suit and brown shoes.

"What do you wish?" the man asked.

"I want to marry Namine but she…she hasn't seen the light yet," Riku began.

"Completely rejected him!" laughed Tidus hysterically who had been silently seated at Riku's side drinking his beer.

Riku glowered at him and jabbed him and spoke up once again, "we all know Vexen is a raging loon! Just today he was in here speaking about a beast and a castle!"

"Vexen is harmless," intervened the old man.

Riku smacked his fist on the table, "the point is…Namine would do anything to protect him."

"Even marry him," Tidus blurted out and got another blow from Riku.

"So let me get this straight….you want me to throw Namine's father into the asylum unless she marries you…oh…that is despicable…I love it!" cackled the crazed old man.

The old man from the asylum and Riku exchanged menacing grins and took off to Namine and her father's house. Since Namine's disappearance the house has taken on an old, depressing air. The moon cast a shivering cold glow and the small house looked deserted.

Riku strode over with his shadow of a friend, Tidus, towards the house and pounded on the door. He called Vexen's name three times and concluded that he was out. Tidus was commanded to not move until Vexen and or Namine returned.

**Author's Note: **well next chapter is up :) I don't own anything either :)


	4. The Library

Chapter Four- The Library

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty!" sang out a cheerful voice- Olette's.

Namine yawned, sitting up in her plush bed, stretched her arms up way high before tossing the sheets off of her, and swinging her slender legs to dangle off the edge of the bed. The young girl pushed herself lazily up and stumbled over to Olette.

"Good morning, Olette! What should I wear today?" Namine beamed at the wardrobe.

The wardrobe shuffled through its depths and pulled out a floor length green dress. The torso was a deep emerald green while the sleeves and the bottom of the dress was a light sea foam green. The top part of the sleeves puffed out and the young blonde graciously took the dress.

"Thank you! Do you know where the bathroom is?" the girl asked the wardrobe.

"Just down the hall, sweetie," Olette instructed.

Namine nodded, holding the dress and exited her bedroom. She creaked the door open and was relieved to see the bathroom was unoccupied. The young girl slipped into the shower and turned on the hot water. Once she was clean, she stepped out and slipped into the dress Olette had given her.

The girl combed out her long blonde locks and pulled them into a low pony tail with a green bow. She didn't bother looking in the mirror and simply exited the room and looked about for the Beast.

"Good morning, Namine!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Hello, Kairi!" Namine smiled.

Namine seated herself at the foot of the table like last night and as she expected food came dancing over to her. She decided on eggs, bacon, and some of Kairi's special tea. Demyx and Axel kept her occupied as well as Larxene, who was Axel's 'friend'. Larxene was a duster and Namine found her to be kind.

"So, what do you think?"Axel asked, raising an ever knowing eyebrow.

Namine grinned, "This food is delicious!"

She finished the last swig of her tea and the plates and cups were off to be cleaned. She leaned back, stuffed at such great cooking they had. Although, it was a castle so she assumed only the best for royalty.

Namine excused herself and slipped on her thick black winter cloak, pulling her hood over her head and wandered about the grounds.

The Beast was watching her intently up on his balcony with Axel and Demyx by his side. He watched as the foot stool rushed over, bounding about in the snow leaped up into her pale arms and she laughed happily. The Beast caught himself smiling and so did Axel and Demyx.

"You like her, don't you?" grinned Axel accusingly.

"I…I've never felt this way before…I wish to do something for her, but what?" the Beast asked the two servants.

"What about flowers or chocolates?" Demyx suggested.

"No, no, no! It must be something special….like…like err, the library!" concluded Axel.

The Beast nodded, liking the idea and went out into the cold the find her. He told her he had a surprise and the curious girl followed alongside him. She noticed that he no longer wore his tattered pants either, instead he wore a nice, crisp white button up shirt, a fancy blue cloak, and nice dress pants.

The couple arrived at door wooden doors and he made her close her eyes to surprise her. With his large claw paws, he gently took her slender hands and led Namine inside. She heard curtains opening and felt the warm rays of sun dance across her face and she smiled.

"Now, you may open them," the Beast told her, excitement in his voice.

Namine obliged and was speechless at what she saw. Bookshelves upon bookshelves with books of all kinds! In the center, there was a huge fireplace with a big blue circle rug with a green couch and chairs, there were two spiraling staircases, and two desks on each side of the library. The main colors were blue and a dark gold.

The library was three stories high and could easily hold ten thousand books. Namine laughed in excitement, hugging the Beast. Little did the two know that the servants were keeping a close eye on them.

"You like it?" he grinned.

"yes, it is wonderful! It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen!" Namine exclaimed, still in shock.

"Then it is yours," the Beast told her.

"Oh, thank you!" The girl smiled.

She took his hands in hers and Kairi whispered softly to her comrades, "would you look at that!"

"Look at what, momma?" Sora asked, clueless.

"Oh, come along Sora, there are many things to be done," Kairi smiled as they all lumbered off talking excitedly.

Namine waltzed over to a shelf and pulled out a golden covered book. She smiled, remember reading this book over and over back when she was in the city, before she ever met the Beast.

"Come on, this one's my favorite," Namine smiled, gently taking his clawed hand and sitting him down on the green couch.

She read the book to him and the entire time the Beast was completely focused on her. The story was about a beautiful young princess who slowly but surely fell in love with one of her knight's and against her family's threats, the two wed. Although the ending is not very happy.

Once the girl finished the story The Beast appeared deep in thought and she asked him what he was thinking about.

"Well, I don't understand…why…why would she do that for him? Why would she give all of it up for a knight?" he stated seeming very perturbed.

She was surprised at his opinion and paused to think before replying, "if you love someone then material things do not matter… that person becomes your reason to live and those things you used to care about so dearly become mere memories and can no longer make you happy."

"Time for supper you two!" called out Kairi's motherly voice.

Namine gave him a sweet angelic smile before getting up and waltzing over to the dining room. The Beast couldn't get over at how she walked- so quietly and softly, it was like she was floating, and lastly, the way her green dress swished elegantly around her ankles. The table was made up for them and The Beast got her chair for her even. She smiled and picked up her fork and knife to cut her steak.

Well, she had cut a small square and looked up to see the Beast had already devoured it and the evidence was in his fur. She stifled a slight laugh and gave him a warm smile to show she wasn't revolted. He looked a bit saddened, so in an attempt to make him feel better she hastily ate her food. When Axel and Demyx returned to talk to them, the duo was already gone, wandering about the hallways.

"So, umm, I feel a bit awkward not having a name to call you," the girl confessed.

"I used to be called Roxas," the Beast said.

"Roxas…huh, I like the sound of that," she said, giving a ghost of a smile to him.

"If you don't mind me asking…were you always like this?" I girl whispered meekly.

Roxas's smile faltered and slowly faded and he looked deep in thought, "I'll tell you my story."

Namine nodded happily and looked up into his ocean blue eyes and he started, "It was around Christmas time, and I was enjoying all of my gifts I had received from all of my servants…actually, scratch that, I was yelling at everyone for not getting me good enough gifts worthy of a prince. When a knock echoed all the way through the great hall into the throne room, which I had to get. Irritated, I stormed out to the large oak door and before me stood a haggard old lady with a ratty black cloak, and smelled as though she had not bathed in days. She had gray almost white hair and only one eye and she wanted to spend the night. She..." he paused to look at Namine.

"She offered me a single rose that was a dark pink, but not quite red. Of course, I laughed, what would a prince want with a rose? And well, she was revolting. So, I turned her away. I closed the door and her obnoxious knocking sounding again. I flung the doors open and yelled at her, demanding she leave… well, the old hag was no longer standing before me, but a beautiful young woman. She had long flowing blonde hair, wore a white long sleeved gown, and her eyes glowed pink like the rose she had given me," again Roxas paused to see if Namine was still listening.

"She told me that since I had no love in my heart, that I will be turned into a beast, and-" Roxas stopped himself before finishing, "That is all."

Namine eyed him warily, "so…why do you keep the rose?"

Roxas stiffened, "there is a way to reverse the curse."

"And the rose is part of that?" she asked him, slowly.

"It shows how much time I have left," he told her.

"Oh," Namine said, remembering how few petals were left when she saw it.

Roxas looked away, expecting her to run. She bit her lip, thinking, before slipping her hand into one of his paws. His head whipped down at her, confused, and Namine merely smiled up at him.

"Thank you for telling me," she told him.

After their talk together Namine was up in her room with Olette. She was pacing about the room trying to sort everything out that had happened that day. He wasn't all that bad…

"What's the matter, dear?" Olette asked.

"Just thinking," Namine stated, whipping her head up.

"Thinking about what?" Olette questioned, tossing her a light pink silk nightgown.

"The B- err, I mean Roxas, he told me how he became a beast," she told the wardrobe, slipping into the nightgown and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"He did? Oh, so you know how he must learn to love before his twenty-first birthday? I cannot believe he told you that!" exclaimed Olette.

The young blonde froze, "h-he never told me that…is that why I'm here?"

"Oh, look at the time; you must be off to bed!" Olette exclaimed.

She side-stepped away from the wardrobe, "no, I'm not tired anymore…thanks though."

Olette yelled after her as Namine left the room in a hurry. Once outside, the cool castle air circled around her bare arms and she shivered. She mentally cursed herself for not grabbing a shawl or something, but her mind so drifted on another subject. The girl could hear whispering and hurried towards it. Namine faltered at the door and pressed her small ear against it to hear better.

"You told her!" squeaked Demyx's nervous voice.

"She was not repulsed, she did not run?" investigated Axel's.

"No, none of that…She…She was very understanding actually," stated Roxas's, his voice sounded deep in thought.

Namine's brow furrowed, and heard Axel's voice ask, "Do you like her?"

"O-of course I like her! She is beautiful, smart, compassionate…oh, who am I kidding? She is so perfect…why would she ever like a beast like me?" The Beast sighed.

The blonde frowned, but felt a strange feeling rush over her and her heart skipped a beat. The three continued their conversation while she slipped away unnoticed and back to bed where Olette was relieved to see her.

**Author's Note: **Well, Chapter four is up! Hope you guys all enjoy! Sorry for taking a bit to post this, but I had winter break, and finals are next week so it's been a bit hectic here...


	5. A Day In the Snow

Chapter Five- A Day in the snow

"Good morning deary!" cheered Kairi's peppy voice.

Namine grumbled, but threw the fluffy white covers off of herself, then swung her legs onto the frigid wood flooring. When her pale blue eyes adjusted to the sunlight seeping into her room, she noticed Olette had set out a pink long-sleeved floor-length dress with a red bodice. The blonde did her morning ritual and raced downstairs to the main hall.

Roxas stood there waiting for the enchanting young girl, fidgeting nervously at his cape. Namine appeared down the steps, grabbing her cloak at the last minute and in one smooth movement throwing it on.

"Are you all ready?" Roxas asked her.

Namine nodded and the duo walked out into the snow. A mischievous smirk plastered itself on the young girl's face. She knelt down to the ground and began to scoop up a small amount of snow and packed it together into a snowball. Roxas was oblivious to what she was doing, so once it was shaped into a circle she ducked behind a tree, peaked her pale face out at him and hit him square in the chest. She burst into a fit of giggles when the beast leaped, looking around.

When he realized it was Namine, he grinned too, and began scooping up snow and making a snowball. His snowball turned out to be the size of a boulder and he raised it high above his head and ready to unless his wrath when Namine smacked him again with a snowball causing him to drop his and it fall on his head. Namine's musical laughter filled the castle grounds.

Roxas pulled himself up, dusted off the snow on him, and chased after her. Namine let out an amused shriek as she ducked behind the large tree. The Beast chased her around the tree five times before he caught her and lifted her up the ground, spinning her in a circle. Namine continued laughing and he placed her gently on the ground. She turned around to face him, smiling sweetly, and tucked a loose blonde lock behind her ear.

The two then heard an innocent little tweet and Namine asked if they could feed the birds. Roxas happily agreed and left to go get some feed. He was gone no more than two minutes and when he came back he carried a huge ten pound bag of feed.

Namine showed him what to do. They stood near an old moss covered bird bath. Namine let Roxas pour her a handful and she put her slender ivory hands out in front of her. She stood very still and sure enough two birds landed on her hands and started pecking lightly at the feed. One bird was a vibrant green and the other was neon yellow.

Once the food was gone the two fluttered over to the bird bath. Namine picked up the food and ordered Roxas to open his paws. He did and she poured some into them. She turned to put the food down and when she spun back around there were twenty birds perched all over him. The girl let out a little giggle and he stood stiff and seemed nervous. After a bit though, he relaxed and seemed to enjoy himself.

Once playing with the birds were over Namine spotted a pond and begged him to go ice cream. He instantly agreed. She grinned and raced off to the pond. They slid the never used skates on and Namine was off. The blonde was literally skating circles around him, she made figure-eight's, and leaping about. Roxas caught himself smiling at her enjoyment.

Namine beckoned him to skate with her. He nervously took a few steps and fell. She tried not to laugh but failed. Namine skated quickly over to him and pulled him up. She held his hand in hers and helped support him and the two danced around the pond. With Namine helping him, Roxas managed to stay upright except for one time. They were picking up speed then Roxas's skate buckled and he swayed causing Namine to lose her balanace and the couple tumble into a pile of snow. They spent the rest of the day attached to one another's side.

**Author's Note**: Wow! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated! And this chapter is short too, so sorry again! Anyway, I hope you liked it!


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